AUTECHRE Vinyl & CDs

Review: A new reissue run of Autechre's best albums is underway, courtesy of Warp Records. The seventh LP Draft 7:30 is one of their many lesser-cited projects, but easily rivals many of the greats for all its ahead-of-its-time tinkerings and extrahuman sonic abstractions. Highlights for those not yet in the know include the stop-start snares and machinic crunches of 'IV VV IV VV VIII', and the mood of psychic absentia conveyed by the rapid-delayed big beat breaks of 'V-PROC'.

Review: A lot of good shit happened in 1998. Musically, it was the year of Air's Moon Safari, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, and the beginning of Mos Def and Talib Kweli's Black Star project. Among other things. Meanwhile, in a parallel sonic dimension, Warp Records was backing the logically-titled fifth full length album from Autechre. A landmark moment in British electronic music some have come to call Autechre, others simply Album. For the purposes of clarity, though, we're sticking with the original title.

This marked a departure from the Autechre we had been used to, with the old warm, full, almost-orchestral sound of earlier work cast aside, or perhaps just put to rest, in favour of something more technical, machine made, and pin-point precise. Good enough to rank in Pitchfork's top 10 IDM albums of all time, what else do you need to know?

Review: So, how long have you been waiting for this one to drop? The answer really depends on two things - whether you've just been waiting for new long form material from the UK IDM legends Autechre, or whether you've been waiting for Autechre to put a proper album together that stays true to the principles and format of a 'proper album', as this does.

Either way let's just say Sign has been some time in the making, and it's definitely a case of payoff for patience. For the most part it's the waves of space age melody that really stand out, tracks like 'Esc Desc' seem to fill the room with bands of sci-fi harmony. Of course there's plenty of glitch and bleep here, too - the stepping 'Au14' is a case in point - alongside rumbling, bass-heavy business like 'Si100', where playful drips of percussion create a juxtaposition of innocence and menace.

Review: As Autechre set out on an extensive live tour, Warp has decided the time is right to reissue their 1994 classic, Amber, on vinyl. Given that it's been unavailable on wax since then, and second hand prices have shot through the roof, this is undoubtedly a good thing. It remains one of the legendary duo's standout albums: a peerless collection of brilliant IDM tunes offering a perfect balance between the glistening, atmospheric melodiousness of their early work, and the crunchy, mathematical rhythms of their later releases. There are moments of eyes-closed calm ("Silverside"), bubbly, melody-led workouts ("Montreal", "Slip"), far-out electro missives ("Glitch"), and the odd icy epic (the brilliant "Further").